Hoopa's Role Swap
by OPFan37
Summary: The Mythical Pokemon Hoopa has begun an experiment; she will become the Champion of the Galar Region by disguising herself as a trainer! The mischievous catch? Her Pokemon team is made up of humans transformed into Pokemon! Can Hoopa and her team of people-turned-Pokemon conquer the Champion Cup? And what will they discover along the way? SYOC!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Journey of Jinny

Oliver Andrews kinda considered himself a failure of a human being.

He'd started all bright-eyed and full of hope, as most 10-year olds did beginning the Gym Challenge, filled with dreams of stepping out to roaring crowds in huge Gigantamax stadiums and collecting the Gym Badges in order to enter the Champion Cup and challenge the newly crowned Champion Leon.

Alas, those were quickly dashed. He had made it to the third Gym when it all fell apart. Kabu was notorious for being the end of many Gym Challengers, and indeed, he was one of them. He had done well up until that point, despite not having a Dynamax band, but the Fire-Type user was too powerful, and no matter how hard he trained, he couldn't defeat that damn Gigantamaxed Centiskorch before the Champion Cup began.

After that, he had returned to his hometown of Wedgehurst a failure, and he never could quite pick himself up after that. He had released his team into the Wild Area, since there was really nothing else he could do with them, and had given into the normal, monotonous life of schoolwork.

Now here he was, 18 years old, working on a Route 2 farm in typical farmhand dungarees and checkered shirt, pale skin, dark brown hair untidily falling to his shoulders and blue eyes tired with life,with nothing particularly grand to his name. Even his Grass and Water Badges had been discarded out of sadness.

"Baaaaa!"

Oliver flinched, and looked down at the Wooloo that was bleating at him.

"Sorry...uh...Marshmallow?" He mumbled at the farmyard sheep Pokemon, who bleated in offence. "Guess not."

It was the middle of summer, so it was shearing season for the Wooloo...yet there had been a thunderstorm yesterday, typical Galar weather. It was just another typical job he did for the next paycheck. Around here you were either a farmer, a shop owner...or a farmer, basically.

"Alright, you have Fluffy, don'tcha?" He asked the Wooloo, which bleated in response. "Right. Stupid question." That meant this was going to be a rough shearing.

As he rolled up his sleeves he looked out across the rolling fields of Route 2. He was a bit sick of them at this point. At least the gossip was interesting though. Being so close to the home of the unbeatable Champion Leon was apparently a cause for celebration, since he popped back so often. He had apparently been in town yesterday and at the Pokemon Lab today, but Oliver wasn't really up for it. Seeing the Champion might just dig up bad thoughts in his mind.

But still...apparently his younger brother Hop was starting on his journey. Good luck to him. Seriously, being the younger brother of the unbeatable Champion probably meant he had a lot on his shoulders. Just thinking about that one kid setting off on his journey made him feel...bitter? Bittersweet. The initial stage of his journey was where he had the most wonder and biggest dreams...it felt impossible to recapture that no-

"Maaaaah!"

"Ack! Sorry! Sorry..." His razor had got caught in the fur, and he gently had to unweave it. He couldn't afford to mess up right now, he had just moved out of home and needed to prove he was self-sufficient, he couldn't afford to get fired. Even though he was really just going through the motions at this point, just going along, day after day after day...

Oh Arceus, was this gonna be his life? Until the day he dies!?

"There you go." He pushed those thoughts far back as he patted the sheared Wooloo, the collected wool as springy and soft as a small trampoline.

"Meeeaaaah." The Wooloo bounded off, looking a little irked. It was clear he'd done a less then stellar job.

"Okay..." He walked outside and leaned against the wall of the barn. Maybe he should take up smoking...no, no he couldn't let his thoughts wander there. You turned to addictions when you had a hole in your life. And he DIDN'T, NOPE, no sirree!

He sighed and slumped down. Maybe he should catch a pet Pokemon or something, to focus his mind on something else. His original team wasn't really 'pet-worthy', which is partially why he released them. The other part was his shame. What else was he gonna do with them? Stand on a road and wait to make eye contact with a passersby? No thanks.

What was your life after being a Trainer? If this was it, he didn't like it...

...Wait, was that the sound of footsteps?

He looked up. Yes, that was definitely footsteps. He looked to his right. Someone was walking towards him from the main road of Route 2. And this was...quite the character.

They were female. Seemed to be around 11, Trainer age. She had a tanned complexion, with sparkling green eyes and dark pink hair tied into a long, messy ponytail that covered the entirety of her back. She was lithe, and wore an open silver jacket with a golden diamond pattern on it, over a dark pink short-sleeve, along with gold-coloured shorts and black leggings with light pink trainers. She carried a standard dark green backpack you could buy from the resident clothes shop, as well as a dark pink beanie, as well as two noticeable golden rings on her wrists.

Two pokemon followed after her; an Impidimp and a Budew. The Impidimp was keeping up pace and had a large grin on its face, like most Impidimp's do, but this one was a genuine smile, which didn't hide any mischief. The Budew on the other hand was wobbling behind with a very grumpy look on its face, most unlike its species in general.

"Hi! Howdy! Hey! Hello!" His attention was quickly brought back to the girl as she practically jumped in front of him with a smile on her face.

"H-Huh?" Oliver blurted out.

"My name's Jinny!" She beamed with enthusiasm. "Nice to meet you!"

"...Um...I'm Oliver?" He replied uncertainly. What was with this girl?

"Oliver? That's a nice name!" At that point the Impidimp and Budew had caught up, the Dark and Fairy type having an excited look to its face whilst the Budew just looked annoyed. "I was just going back down Route 2, when I noticed you out here looking all lonely."

He must have looked really pathetic for a kid to be worrying about him. "No, no, I was just, taking a break from work." It wasn't technically a lie. "'Back down' Route 2? Does that mean you went to-?"

"Magnolia's house? Yeah!" She smiled, before flashing a Dynamax Band at him. "I got this!"

"You got a Dynamax Band?" He stared at it with envy. "...Hey, you cherish that. You're really lucky to have something like that."

"I know." She smiled.

"Budew, Bud!" The Budew suddenly spoke up in an annoyed tone.

"Yes, I am! He looked like he would be great." She spoke to her(?) Pokemon, before turning back to Oliver. "Do you mind if I ask you something?"

"...Sure?"

"Great! Come with me for a sec." She suddenly seized his wrist and pulled him with a surprising amount of strength round the other side of the barn out of sight of the main road.

"...Hey, if you're gonna mug me, go ahead. I ain't got nothing on me, not even Pokemon." Why did he say that? Why the Distortion did he say that?

"Impimpimp!" The Impidimp seemed to find it funny at least.

"Oh! I'm not mugging you." Jinny waved it off. "I just wanted to ask you something."

"Okay?"

"See, I'm currently going on a journey, if you couldn't tell. A very special journey. One unlike anything you can expect!" He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Every Trainer had this mindset setting off. He knew because he was like this once. "And I want you to be a part of my team!"

"Pardon?"

"Will you journey with me?" She clasped her hands together, as if pleading. "I feel like you could be a real asset to us!"

"Hey, listen..." This situation was weird, but he didn't want to break her heart or anything, so he should let her down easy. "I'm not really sure what you mean. But I gave up being a Trainer a while ago. It just, didn't work out for me, and I haven't got enough confidence to do it again."

"Oh, is that your reason?" Jinny blinked. "But...that doesn't have to be the end of it, y'know! There's still so much more you could do if you come with us! I can tell you're missing something in your life, so a journey may be just what you need!"

This was beginning to hit a bit too close to home for his liking. "Look, I-"

"I promise it's really important! You'll be a part of something grand! Get to experience something new and fascinating! A new perspective will be just what you need to open up your mind to the possibilities again!" Jinny went on.

"Deeeewwww…" Her Budew groaned at the speech.

Oliver tried to look away, the hope in her eyes was really getting to him. "I-"

"Or maybe you're just scared to try again?" She pondered aloud, which made him flinch. "Scared of failing again...but with me, that won't be a worry at all! You can trust me!"

"Alright, that's enough." He held his hands out. "No more sweet talk. I've got a job to do here."

"But you look pretty miserable doing it. And the Wooloo don't seem to like you. And it doesn't seem like you have anybody helping you, so you must be lonely as well, huh?" Wooooow she did not hold back on those words stabbing through his heart at all. "C'mon, what have you got to lose?"

'She flip-flopped between positive and negative reinforcement so easily!' he thought.

"Imp, Impidimp." Her Impidimp said.

"Mmmm...yeah, maybe we should just give up." She shrugged, turning around. "We'll just find somebody else."

"Hey, hold on!" Oliver called out before he knew what he was doing.

"Yes!?" She whipped around with a big grin and sparkling eyes.

'Damnit, they hooked me!' He could tell that Impidimp knew what they had done from that smug grin a Morgrem would usually wear.

"I..." Was he really going to do this. "What would you need me for?"

"Does that mean you'll come along with us?" She asked.

He inhaled deeply. Might as well throw rational thought out the window, all of it was negative thoughts anyway. "Depends on how I can help."

"Good enough for me!" Jinny smiled as she took off one of the rings. "Just do me a favour and hold still, 'kay?"

"What do you mean by-" He stopped as the ring suddenly enlarged itself and hung over him. "Wha-?" Then the hoop fell, enveloping him completely in a blinding light, and a numbing sensation all over his body.

"Aaaaaaand Hoopa ta-dah! Our third party member!" He heard Jinny say, his eyes still tightly shut.

"You both are terrible." An unfamiliar female voice said.

"Aw, c'mon! This guy looked like he needed it." A male voice spoke.

"Let's have a look at you..." Jinny's voice said. "...Oh!"

"Ugh..." Oliver blinked, his vision slowly returning to him...why did the ground look closer? He was on eye-level with the Budew and Impidimp now, with Jinny bending down over him. Did he fall over.

"Well aren't you a handsome little guy?" The Trainer cooed down at him.

"Eh...?" He tried to move, push himself up...but something felt wrong. He could feel his body responding, but it seemed to be restricted.

"Huh, so that's what he turned into?" The Impidimp thought aloud.

"Pretty fitting I'd say." The Budew snarked.

...Wait a second...

"Did you two just talk!? And did I understand you!?" Oliver cried.

"Hey, he's alive!" The Impidimp gave a mocking applause.

"Welcome to the club." The Budew said.

Before he could do anything, he felt himself being picked up, and was now facing Jinny at eye level, who was suddenly giant apparently. "Surprise! You're part of the team!"

"Wha-? What did you do to me!?" He shrieked.

"See for yourself!" Holding him with one hand, she produced a small hand mirror from her pocket and faced it towards him.

His face wasn't staring back, nonononono. What was staring back at him was a Corsola. A Corsola without its ectoplasmic spikes, which blinked when he blinked, and made to scream when he-

"I'M A CORSOLA!?" He shrieked.

"He's a genius too!" The Impidimp mockingly congratulated him.

That explained why he couldn't move! The ectoplasm now came out through the holes in HIS shell, as easy as slipping his hands through the sleeve of a shirt...only the shirt was his shell and the arm was a mass of ectoplasm that felt like one giant limb to him! His whole body was practically ghost slime!

"What is this!?" He yelled, the horrified expression of the Corsola in the mirror copying him. "Am I dreaming? Did I fall asleep shearing Wooloo!?"

"Nope!" Jinny put him down. "You're now part of the first ever human Pokemon team!"

"Human pokemon team? What are you talking about!? Who are you!?" he panicked.

"Now that that's done, I can introduce myself!" She suddenly pulled off the other ring, and enlarged it over herself, pulling it over her from head to toe, leaving behind a Pokemon that looked like a floating genie.

"Hoopa ta-dah!" She revealed in a still feminine voice...as the hat she was wearing fell to the ground and the bag crumpled to the ground. "The irresistible Hoopa is here!"

"...Hoopa?" Oliver echoed in confusion.

"She's a Mythical Pokemon." The Budew said. Right...he was a Pokemon now, so he could actually talk to Pokemon...hold on-

"A Mythical!?" He gasped.

"That's right!" Hoopa grinned as she floated in front of him. "I'm going on a journey to become the Champion of Galar!"

He just stared in shock. This was too much to process. He was suddenly a Corsola with a Mythical in front of him.

"Allow me to explain." Hoopa said. "I'm doing an experiment!"

"E-Experiment?" He stuttered.

"That's right! An experiment where a Pokemon-little 'ol me-uses humans as Pokemon, super Hoopa role reversal!" She declared with a burning passion in her eyes. "An experiment I have dubbed...Hoopa's Super Duper Hoopalong for the Ride Role Swap Experiment!"

"Or Hoopa's Role Swap for short." the Impidimp said.

"With me as my Trainer, and you as my Pokemon, we're gonna become the Champion!" Hoopa grinned.

"H-Hold on a second!" Oliver cried, waving his ectoplasm as best he could. "I didn't sign up for something like this!"

"Well you wouldn't believe me if I just told you." Hoopa said.

"I would have if you'd turned into that form BEFORE the big speech!" He cried in desperation.

"See? He gets it." The Budew said.

"W-Wait..." Realisation dawned on him. "Does that mean you two are...?"

"Hi! I'm Evan! Evan Williams! Hoopa's starter; Impidimp! Pleasure." The Impidimp greeted.

"I'm Heather Young...Budew…" The Bud Pokemon groaned.

"So...you two also...?" He began.

"Oh, I willingly came along." Evan smirked. "This is awesome."

"I have no arms." Heather said, which told him all he needed to know about how she felt about the situation.

"So that makes a Dark Fairy, Grass Poison, and now Ghost! What a team this is shaping up to be!" Hoopa clasped her hands in joy.

"Hold on! I didn't agree to something like this!" Oliver yelled.

"But I technically didn't lie." Hoopa responded innocently. "This is definitely a unique opportunity, isn't it?"

"Define 'unique' from 'weird'..." His whole body was essentially ghost slime poking out of a shell.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you." Hoopa went on. "Something new! Something different! Unlike anything you've felt before."

'I've realised too late...that sweet tempting reasoning...she's some kind of demon!' He thought in horror.

"I mean, it's a bit too late now." The Budew pointed out.

"Am I stuck like this!?" He cried.

"Oh no! I can turn you back...once we win the Champion Cup." Hoopa said. "Until then, you'll be part of my Champion worthy Pokemon team!"

"Distortion yeah!" Evan cheered.

"Congrats." Heather gave a slow, mocking clap of sorts with the two sprouts on top of her head.

Oliver just stared on in shock.

And that was essentially how Hoopa, or rather, Jinny's, Role Swap truly began.

* * *

**Hello there all. I am back after a long break from writing. I needed to get back into it somehow, and this is what I came up with; a story where the Mythical Pokemon Hoopa becomes a Trainer using a team full of humans turned into Pokemon. **

**This one was just a short introductory chapter to the world with a bit of world-building thrown in, just so you can understand a bit about how things are. Next chapter will focus more on getting used to being part of Hoopa's team.**

**Now, as you are no doubt aware, this is a SYOC. You can submit Hoopa's team members. But of course, allow me to lay down some major rules to follow:**

**1\. No Legendaries/Mythicals. That should be a given. But also, no Starters, Pikachu lines, Eevee lines or Riolu/Lucario, there are over 900, and Dexit does not apply here! Go nuts!**

**2\. Be detailed! Again, this should be a given. Absolutely NO bullet pointing info.**

**3\. Submissions shall be accepted by PM ONLY. Submissions in the reviews shall be ignored. When submitting, title your PM 'Hoopa's Role Swap - *Character Name*', such as like 'Hoopa's Role Swap - Oliver Andrews', it makes it easier for me. If you don't, I will probably miss it.**

**Now then. Form is below, and at the bottom of my profile, just remove the parenthesis:**

* * *

**Name: (First and Last, please)**

**Gender: **

**Age: (Any age is fine, as long as its not lower then 5 or higher then 90)**

**Appearance: (This is pre-Pokemon, including skin colour, eye colour, hair style/colour and outfit. Also include any differences their Pokemon form might have, such as a Rookidee with a red beak)**

**Personality: (This one's the kicker folks, and should be a paragraph. What are they like normally? How do they react being turned into a Pokemon? Does becoming a Pokemon affect their personality? How do they feel about battling? A range of personalities is important, so be creative!)**

**Strengths/Likes: (What are they good at? What do they enjoy? Music? Food? Pokemon?)**

**Weaknesses/Dislikes: (What are they not so good at? What do they shy away from? Violence? Strategy? Team Yell?)**

**Pokemon: (What Pokemon do they turn into? It has to be base form, and each evolution line is first come, first served, so if you choose one already taken and accepted, you'll have to re-choose.)**

**Evolve: (Optional. Do they evolve? What stage do they reach, if they can evolve twice?)**

**Ability: (What is their ability as a Pokemon?)**

**Special: (What I mean by this is; can they Mega Evolve or Gigantamax? Both are featured.)**

**Moves: (What moves do they use? You can list more then 4, you don't start off with Hyper Beam after all)**

**Romance: (Optional. What is their sexuality? What are they looking for in a partner? You can suggest one of the already revealed team members, but it's not guaranteed.)**

**Backstory: (This is another big one. This is set in the Pokemon world. What was your characters life like prior to meeting Hoopa? What do they do, how do they live? Are they ecstatic to go along with Hoopa or resistant to it? Anything in your characters life that haunts them, or they're trying to run from?)**

**Extra: (Anything else you want to add that I might have missed.)**

* * *

**That's it folks! Hope you enjoyed this introduction! And...uh...it's been a while, I don't know how to end these anymore...**

**...**

**Bye!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Hoopa Gone Wild!

Heather Young never thought her life would take this kind of turn.

Just earlier today, she was still herself, a 15 year-old ready to start her Gym Challenge (Don't judge, 15 was still young enough) after passing her GCSE's. But of course, her life couldn't go that easily, noooooooo, she had to bump into 'Jinny' and Evan, the Mythical jumped on her without her say-so as soon as she found out she was just about to begin her journey, and now she was going on a journey, only as a Pokemon. With NO ARMS.

Did she mention she missed her arms? She also missed her short purple hair, her green eyes, her lithe body...and clothes. She was practically naked 24/7 now. Never thought she'd miss a pair of short shorts, a pair of sneakers and a striped short sleeve.

And now she was a baby Pokemon, on the team of a Mythical disguised as a human with Evan the Impidimp, and the recently 'recruited' Oliver the Corsola. Speaking of whom...

"You can do it, Oliver!" Hoopa, back in her human form, cheered, whilst Evan just contained his chuckles, as Oliver as bumping along the ground towards the two of them across the field.

"C-Come on...forward. F-Forward!" Oliver wobbled in the air, before he collapsed completely.

"Great job, Oli!" Evan called, clapping.

"Floating is difficult..." Oliver mumbled.

Oliver had figured he was stuck in this situation anyway, so he might as well go along with it. The problem was moving with his new body. Turns out his new form wasn't the shell, rather he was the ectoplasm inside of it, eyes and mouth included. So essentially, he had to learn how to float, whilst carrying the shell with him.

"Use your core! Floating is all about throwing your core around!" Hoopa called.

"I haven't got a core! I'm practically an egg!" Oliver called out.

"And you're doing eggcellent." Evan laughed at his own joke.

Heather was exasperated. This was her life now, and they were only starting out! What was Hoopa's end goal for this? Why come to Galar? Would she stop at 6 team members? Probably not judging from that hope in her eyes she had whenever she spotted a new team member. The Budew certainly didn't trust the djinn Pokemon and was sceptical about this whole thing.

Still, watching Oliver roll forward in an attempt to float was pathetic. Hilariously pathetic.

"Jinny..." Oliver moaned.

"You can just call me Hoopa from now on. Humans can't understand you anymore." She said so nonchalantly.

"Hoopa then...how is this gonna work exactly? This whole journey?" Oliver asked, wobbling in the air.

"Want the details, huh?" She spoke as they walked/floated terribly. "Well, the good news for you guys is I'm not gonna keep you in Poke-Balls, I'm nice like that. And luckily, Poke-Balls still register you as human, so you're unaffected by them anyway."

"Thank Arceus." Heather sighed. She didn't have enough morbid curiosity to find out what being inside a Poke-Ball is like.

"You'll just follow me around, like they do in Johto." Hoopa went on. "I'm keeping to the 6 member limit though. As for any extras...I've got a plan in mind."

The Budew and Corsola didn't like the sound of that. The Impidimp laughed it off.

"Evan, aren't you fazed at all by this?" Oliver asked.

"Are you kidding? This is awesome! I'm a Pokemon!" He cheered. "I can do THIS!" He then clapped his hands together, releasing a shockwave that made the other two freeze for a good moment.

"Was that Fake Out?" Oliver asked.

"Naturally. Apparently we start out pretty low level." Evan explained. "Which means, you, Oli...probably know Tackle, Harden and Astonish."

"I know the typical Budew moves." Heather added.

"Hmm...okay..." The Corsola seemed to be processing. "How do you, do moves?"

"It's different for each move, but they all come naturally." Hoopa Chimecho'ed in. "Just listen to your Pokemon instincts."

"I just picture the energy gathering in my hands, then I just clap them together." Evan added.

"For basically all my moves, I just concentrate, and the energy wells up inside me. Take that as you will." Heather helped the new Ghost-Type out a bit.

"Mmm..." Oliver seemed to be deep in thought.

"And here we are back in Wedgehurst!" Hoopa declared, making the three Pokemon stop. "Right team! Now we just need to ride the train to Motostoke!"

"The train station is downhill, third right." Heather pointed out.

"Awesome!" Hoopa declared as she bounded down.

"W-Wait, hold on!" Oliver was still struggling to float properly.

"Hold on, I've got a solution to the problem." Evan said as he picked up Oliver, heaving. "Wow, you're heavier then I thought!"

"How much do Corsola weigh again?" Oliver thought aloud.

"Don't ask me, I'm not a Pokedex." Heather mumbled.

"Hold on, I've got this." Evan reassured him.

"Wait, what have you-"

"YEET!" Evan chucked Oliver, who screamed bloody murder as he spun through the air.

"You are awful." Heather stated.

"And you didn't stop me, which makes you just as guilty." Evan said as the duo followed after him.

Oliver's life flashed before his eyes as the world whirled around him, until he felt himself get...caught?

"Aaaand a great save by Jinny!" Hoopa declared as she held him at eye level. "Can't go having my Corsola get hurt now can I?"

Oliver frowned, (which was a Corsola's normal face) as being called 'her Corsola' was a little uncomfortable. Was there going to be some life lessons thrown into this journey?

"Success!" Evan declared as the other two joined them.

"I almost died!" Oliver screeched, his ectoplasmic branches spiking aggressively.

"Hey! He's already mastered Astonish!" Evan jabbed a thumb at him.

"Come on you lot, or we'll miss the train." Hoopa said, as she went inside, cradling Oliver.

The new Corsola had to admit, being carried felt really nice, comforting, almost...or was that just the Pokemon side of him thinking that?

"Hey there, Jinny!" A new voice appeared which made Oliver opened his eyes, not realising they were closed in content. His gaze met a young tanned skinned boy with dark navy hair and all-too recognisable golden eyes.

"Hi, Hop!" Hoopa greeted him cheerfully.

'Wait, seriously? She knows the Champion's younger brother!?' He thought in disbelief.

"Wow! A Galarian Corsola!" Hop beamed at him. "These are super rare, right?"

"Yep! His name is Oliver!" Hoopa hugged him proudly.

'So she's keeping our names.' He learned, pulling his branches back into his shell so that he didn't stab her.

"And here come Evan and Heather." Hoopa gestured as the other two joined her.

"Gotta admit, it's strange you don't keep your team in Poke-Balls." Hop commented with an ever-present smile. "But wow! You've gotta have Giratina's luck if you've already got a team like this! Still, don't think I'm gonna lose, I'm gonna be next Champion after all!"

'Cocky little shit.' Heather thought.

"Where's Gloria?" Hoopa asked.

"Who?" Oliver added.

"Another Trainer." Evan told him. "Starting out on her journey as well. Hoopa kinda made her way into the dynamic between the two of them forcefully."

"Just like her." Heather commented.

Hop grinned. "She should be coming short-"

"You two are a right pair of twats ya know that!?" Everyone flinched as a girl wearing a grey jumper and green bobblehat with a brown bowlcut appeared in the doorway.

"Is that-?" Oliver began.

"Yeah. She's great, watch." Evan smirked.

"What do ya think yer doin' goin' off so quick and leavin' me behind!?" She spoke in a really thick Circhester accent. "Me an' Scorbunny were lookin' all over the place fer ya!"

"Sorry, Gloria, we're just excited to head off, that's all." Hop said.

"Yeah, yeah, I getcha." She said, as she downed a bottle of cola in her hand.

'Oh wow...she's almost offensive.' Oliver couldn't help but think.

"So we settin' off?" Gloria asked.

"I got my ticket!" Hop flashed it.

"Same here!" Hoopa held Oliver in one hand to produce hers. "Got it in advance!"

"...Right, ticket." Gloria nodded as she headed over to the desk.

"I'm sitting in a different car, so my Pokemon can move around a bit." Hoopa informed the both of them.

"Eh? If ya say so." Gloria waved her off.

"It's exciting though, isn't it?" Hop beamed.

"Yeah!" Hoopa returned the smile.

"Ugh, you two are hopeless." Gloria sighed. "Come on then."

With that, the group boarded the train bound for Motostoke.

* * *

True to her word, Hoopa was in a car far behind the others, as Oliver rested in his shell on the table whilst Evan and Heather sat on the opposite seats.

"So, those two are...?" Oliver made conversation.

"Friends. And rivals." Hoopa said. "You've gotta have rivals on your journey, after all!"

"You just had to choose to start your experiment when the Champion's brother of all people was beginning his." Heather commented.

"That just means we'll beat them in the end." Evan relaxed with his hands behind his giant head.

"You're pretty good at blending in with humans, Hoopa." Oliver commented.

"Thanks! I teased humans a whole bunch for centuries, so I gained an idea of how they tick." Hoopa smirked.

'...Why did that sentence sound so sinister too?' The Corsola thought.

"Once we get to Motostoke, we'll register for the Gym Challenge, and grab ourselves a new teammate!" Hoopa declared.

'Said with such determination that she won't take no for an answer.' Heather interpreted in her head.

"Hey, uh, Hoopa? As our Trainer, shouldn't you get some training in once we stop? Especially since, y'know, we've got Oli new here?" Evan prompted.

"I was!" Hoopa cried, offended.

"No you weren't."

"Okay, I wasn't." She caved rather easily. "Cut me some slack, I'm a new Trainer."

"You're also a new human, practically." Heather said.

"And I've done an awesome job so far, haven't I?" She proclaimed.

"Uhh...Hoopa?" Evan nodded towards her head, as one of her horns was poking out from her hat.

"Ah!" She quickly fixed it. "Thanks. I just can't hide those."

'Guess there are some feats even Pokemon like that can't do.' Oliver figured in his head.

Just then, the four felt the train beginning to slow down.

"Are we stopping?" Hoopa thought aloud.

"No way! We can't be at Motostoke yet!" Heather said.

"Looks like we're at the Wild Area station." Evan said, looking out the window.

"Let's check it out, team." Hoopa said as she picked Oliver up.

As the group left their carriage onto the platform, they joined Hop and Gloria in the station.

"There ya ah." Gloria said.

"What's going on?" Hoopa asked innocently.

"Apparently there's some Wooloo on the track, mate." Hop jabbed with his thumb.

"What is up with Wooloo blocking everything?" Heather grumbled.

"This is a right pain!" Gloria said. "Not gonna be goin' anywhere, apparently!"

"Oh! Ohohoh! Does this mean...we can go across the Wild Area!?" Hoopa beamed.

"We ain't got much choice, unless you want to wait." Hop commented.

"This is great!" Hoopa bounced on her heels joyfully.

"Might as well use it to test out the campin' naff." Gloria admitted.

"Let's go, guys!" Hoopa ran off.

"Wooo! Wild Area!" Evan cheered.

They exited the station and found themselves staring out across a gigantic landscape with constantly shifting weather overhead, loads of giant lakes, and dense forests, with Motostoke being a dot in the distance.

The Wild Area was notorious for its unpredictable weather, incredibly powerful Pokemon, and of course the Wild Dens, as they had been coined by Professor Magnolia.

"The Wild Area..." Oliver stared across it with an unfamiliar feeling in his heart, memories of his own journey being brought up.

"I can't believe we have to travel through all this." Heather commented.

"It's okay! The opening ceremony is two days away! That's plenty of time to get to Motostoke, whilst exploring this place as well!" Hoopa grinned widely.

"Well, aren't you energetic?" The four turned around to be met with Hop and Gloria accompanying a young woman with orange hair that had silver heart pins in it, wearing a brown coat.

"Isn't that-?" Oliver began.

"Professor Magnolia's granddaughter Sonia? Yeah, we know her too." Evan almost bragged.

"Of course I am! This is so exciting!" Hoopa smiled.

"Glad to see." Sonia said as she twirled her ponytail with a finger. "I take it know how things work in the Wild Area?"

"Naturally." Hoopa puffed her chest with pride. "Me and my team are gonna give those Dynamaxed Pokemon what-for!"

"We're gonna what?" Oliver spoke up.

"Glad to see you're eager, but remember, you're still new at this. Only tackle what you can handle." She advised. "And keep an eye on time. You should be able to make it to Motostoke with plenty of time to spare, but just keep an eye to the sky."

"Ha! Like we'll miss the openin' ceremony!" Gloria said.

"I'm getting excited!" Hop said as...he got into a really weird pose. "I'm gonna find some really strong Pokemon for my team!"

"We should travel through separately though." Hoopa suggested. "We should all have our own Wild Area adventures."

"She's just saying that so that she won't look like a weirdo to them, talking to us all the time." Evan said.

"Sounds good, mate. But that just menas I'm gonna go in first!" With that, the Champion's brother took off.

"Guess we're gonna go for it, then too!" Hoopa grinned. "C'mon, gang!"

"What are we, Scooby Doom?" Heather muttered, but followed anyway as we set off.

"See ya round, Jinny!" Gloria called.

So the group headed out across the Rolling Fields, the weather overcast as they plodded along across a giant field, Pidove flying overhead and Bunnelby hopping through the grass, which the transformed humans could actually now pick up on, as the Pokemon would talk about foraging, certain favourable spots, or whisper to each other if they took notice of the four of them.

"Hey." Oliver spoke up, still being cradled. "Did you mean what you said when you said you were going to challenge the Wild Dens?"

"Obviously." Hoopa replied.

"Why? I thought you weren't gonna catch any Pokemon, just add humans." Heather bitterly said.

"Yeah, but there are other goodies you get from defeating a Dynamaxed Pokemon. Like Experience Candy, sellable items, Technical Records. Besides, just the challenge is pretty good, right?" The Mythical giggled.

"Speaking of which, perhaps its time to get Oli battle prepared." Evan suggested.

"Good idea, Evan." Hoopa agreed. "Let's see...hmmm...ah! Excuse me! You over there!"

The Mincinno that was running across stopped, and looked around for a second. "...Me?"

"Yes! Do you mind having a battle with my friend, Oliver here?" She asked.

"Um...I guess." The Mincinno shrugged (she sounded female from her voice).

"Awesome!" Hoopa set Oliver down and took a couple of steps back. "Alright Oliver, since you're my Pokemon and I'm your Trainer, you gotta listen to my commands, okay?"

"I guess that is how it works." He admitted, eyeing the Mincinno, which was scratching behind its ears, looking a bit disinterested. "But, I don't even know how to use moves yet!"

"Experience is perfect practice!" She reasoned.

"She picked a Normal-Type." Heather mumbled knowingly.

"Um...soooo...?" The Mincinno spoke up.

"Oh, you go first." Hoopa offered.

"Riiiight." The Mincinno nodded, before it began running towards the Corsola.

"Uhh, I'm having anxiety about this!" Oliver yelled, his fight-or-flight screaming at him, but he couldn't run due to still not getting floating down pat.

"You'll do great!" Hoopa encouraged.

"Hyah!" The Mincinno leapt into the air and fell tail first.

"Waitwaitwaitwait!" Oliver cried.

As the tail went right through him.

Oliver's eyes went wide. "...Aaaaa-!"

"Calm down!" Heather interrupted him. "You're a Ghost-Type! Tail Slap doesn't affect you!"

"Ah! That's right!" He wheezed. He'd forgotten that fact over the alarm bells in his head.

"Oliver, use Tackle!" Hoopa commanded.

"Tackle! Easy enough..." Tucking himself into his shell, Oliver threw himself forward, pushing the shell and slamming it into the Mincinno with moderate force, causing it to cry out and get thrown back.

"Ow! Ohhh, so Tail Slap doesn't work?" The Mincinno grunted.

'Does it not know about Type Matchups?' The Ghost-Type thought.

"Then...how about this?" Suddenly, its tail glowed with dark energy.

"Shit, it knows Knock Off." Evan commented from the sidelines.

"Must be an Egg Move." Heather said.

"Wait, that's super effective against me!" Oliver realised.

"Don't worry, you're tanky!" Hoopa said, but that did not help his nerves as the Mincinno repeated the process from before, only this time it would hit! "Harden!"

'Harden...!' Letting instincts take over once again, he retreated into his shell and let his ectoplasmic body pool inside, as he suddenly felt both his shell and slime become harder.

Still, the Knock Off still connected, and HURT. It was like his shell had been hit with a hammer. But he managed to stand his ground, despite the fact that pain like that would normally leave him rolling on the ground clutching at the pained area. Guess Pokemon had higher pain tolerance.

"Use Tackle!" Hearing the command, Oliver acted on impulse he threw his body into the Mincinno again, this time with much more force, causing it to get launched into a nearby tree, where it collapsed to the ground with a gasp of pain.

"Victory!" Evan declared.

"I won?" Oliver popped out of his shell.

"Good job, Oliver." Hoopa praised.

'Huh...thinking on it, Hoopa made me use Harden to toughen up my shell, which increased the power of Tackle.' Oliver thought. 'I guess she does know battle tactics.'

"Ow...that hurt." The Mincinno picked herself up, and with a quick shake, she looked beaten, but up, and annoyed. "No fair! My Tail Slap didn't work! Hmph!" She then ran off.

"Charming." Heather said.

"Yeah, wild Pokemon aren't so good at strategies. Forget stalling or stat reduction, they don't know type matchups." Hoopa smirked. "That's for Trainers to do."

"Hm." Oliver hummed in response, feeling a little bit chuffed over his first victory.

Just then, there was a large booming sound above them. Everyone looked up to see the skies quickly darken.

"That looks like rain." Evan said.

"Let's go into Dappled Grove, the trees should provide some shelter." Hoopa suggested.

As soon as they entered the tree-filled area, the heavens opened as rain poured down. Thankfully the four managed to find a large tree to sit under.

"Looks like we're staying put until the weather changes." Hoopa said. "So you know what that means? Time to set up camp!"

"Oh, you have one of those Camping Kits in that bag?" Heather asked.

"Oh no, not in the bag." Hoopa then pulled off one of her hoops and enlarged it, creating a portal which she reached into, and pulled out a box about the size of a Hippopotas, before returning her hoop to normal.

"What was that!?" Oliver asked.

"Oh! That's just my little pocket dimension I keep all my stuff in." Hoopa shrugged, as if it was perfectly natural. "Being around so much, you grab a few...a lot of things."

'So you just stole them.' Heather thought.

Within seconds, Hoopa had set up a dark pink tent and a small fire...which she was lighting with a flint.

"How the Distortion did you humans make fire like this?" Hoopa muttered. "Fire-Type moves are much easier!"

"Hey, wanna be a human, light a fire like a human." Heather critiqued.

"Memememe." Hoopa childishly mumbled.

Heather sighed, she really couldn't figure her out. Evan was trying to help her with the fire, and Oliver was still practicing floating. She felt her eyes wandering around, to see the Pokemon of Dappled Grove, all running around, calling out to each other. Her eyes were drawn to a group of Seedot with a Nuzleaf, who seemed to be the older brother, resting underneath a tree. Nuzleaf was a weird Pokemon, just for the fact that it had nipples. Seriously, they were REALLY distracting. And that nose too. And those thighs. That thing had a good body on-

Wait.

"Hoopa!" Heather immediately leapt at Hoopa and grabbed onto her shirt with her buds, looking at her with murder in her eyes. "Why do I find that Nuzleaf kind of hot!? WHY DO I FIND THAT NUZLEAF KIND OF HOT!?"

"You do?" Hoopa looked over at the Seedot family, who was now staring at them weirdly.

"WHYYYYYYYYY?" She hissed.

"Huh, guess the transformation changed some things mentally." Hoopa figured. "But, you're a baby Pokemon, you shouldn't have attraction yet. Soooo I guess it's just a bit of Pokemon mentality added to your human one."

"Yeah. I still find the thought of human women attractive, that Sonia was a bombshell." Evan shrugged. "But that Cherubi I spotted earlier? Damn, she was THICC."

"Lalalalala, I can't hear you!" Oliver droned out from within his shell.

Heather fell dejectedly to the ground, weeping softly. "This is my life now..."

"If it helps, all this information is really useful for me." Hoopa said.

"Oh, GOOD for YOU." Heather yelled.

"So let me know if anything changes about you all mentally, 'kay?" Hoopa coaxed. "Ah! Fire's done! Time to get dinner ready!"

"What are we having?" Evan asked.

"Well, for our first meal, since we're in the Wild Area, I'm doing a Galar staple." She said as she placed a large pot over the fire. "Curry!"

"Huh, normally we're known for Wishiwashi and chips, but okay." Evan shrugged.

"Hoopa, do you know how to cook?" Oliver asked.

"Do you doubt me? I've watched humans cook before." She said as she created another portal with her rings. "Okay, so what are we feeling? Sausages? Leek? Apple?"

"Well, big question first; any of us vegetarian?" Evan spoke up.

"Nope." "...No." Oliver and Heather respectfully replied.

"Sausages then." Hoopa decided as she pulled out a pack and dumped them in. "And we'll bulk it up with Oran Berries." She tilted her hoop, causing said berries to fall in before returning it to her wrist. "Now we're cooking."

"Do you want a hand? Not like I've got any." Heather said.

"It's the Trainer's job to take care of their Pokemon." The Mythical said as she frantically fanned the flames. "Unless, y'know, you wanna go hunting."

"You mean...for like, other Pokemon?" Oliver hesitantly asked.

"Yeah. Pokemon-eat-Pokemon world." She shrugged.

"Thanks, but I like things cooked." Evan declined.

"Are Corsola natural hunters?" Oliver asked.

"Nope! You're a Ghost-Type! You don't need to eat!" Hoopa declared as she began stirring.

"...Am I dead?"

"Technically, yes."

'Ohhhhhh...' He groaned in his head.

"If that's true, Heather over there is legally a plant." Evan noted. "Hey! Try photosynthesising!"

"If I could flip you off, I would!" She yelled.

"Actually, if there were sunlight, you technically coul-"

"Shut up, Hoopa!"

"That's no way to speak to your Trainer, especially when she's cooking dinner for you! Speaking of which..." She began dishing the curry up. "Dinner's ready!"

The group of four looked down at their respective plates.

"That looks...perfectly fine." Oliver said.

"Of course." Hoopa boasted. "Dig in, everybody!"

"Our first meal as a team together." Evan said.

"Great." Heather said, as she had to lean down to eat it, unable to use cutlery, same as Oliver.

All of them took a bite.

'Koffing Class!' All of them thought.

"What the hell, Hoopa!?" Heather gasped.

"Water...!" Evan gasped as he stuck his tongue out where rainwater was leaking through the trees.

"How did it end up like this...?" Evan wept.

"I don't know!" Hoopa cried. "I cooked it really good, stirred it really hard, and put my heart into it..."

"You burnt it, spilt it, and...well, you messed something else up!" Heather yelled.

"And I really thought I'd got cooking down pat..." The Mythical sighed. "I guess it's a lot harder then I thought."

"Well, we can't eat the rest of this!" Heather cried.

"You're right..." Hoopa opened a portal again and dumped out four cups of ramen. "How about this instead? I've got a kettle too."

"Huh...these are in date." Evan said, checking the expiration dates.

"I got a bunch of stuff in preparation for this journey." Hoopa admitted, almost shamefully.

"No complaints here." Heather said.

So they used the rainwater to fill up the kettle and boiled it to have their very Kantonian meal, but everybody was happier over the alternative as they flurped up their noodles.

"Well, our first meal together didn't exactly turned out the way I wanted it to..." Hoopa admitted. "But it's still good, right?"

"Oh, yeah." Evan nodded, finishing up his pot.

"I miss cutlery." The Budew bitterly commented.

"At least I can still taste." Oliver said.

"It's starting to get pretty late." The Impidimp noted, looking up at the sky, which was turning even darker through the rain.

"It has been a long day, hasn't it?" Hoopa reminisced over the one day.

"Too long." Heather mumbled.

"What do we do about sleeping arrangements?" Oliver asked.

"I've got that covered too!" Hoopa created another portal and pulled out several blankets. "We'll all sleep round the fire, on nature's bed; the ground."

"The ground? Really?" The Budew questioned.

"Most Pokemon don't even have that. Nor a Luxury Ball to cosy up into." Hoopa reasoned. "Look, I'm right here with you. It would be unfair to sleep in a tent whilst you all are out here."

"I can't believe this." Heather shook her head. "I wanted to sleep in a tent."

"Cheer up, Bud!" Evan cackled, making her glare at him. "You were going on a journey anyway, so you gotta get used to living rough!"

"Mmmmm…" Hoopa got herself cosy, as Evan laid on the ground, Heather wrapped herself up like a baby (which she technically was), and Oliver pooled into himself with a blanket over his shell. "Nighty-night, everybody."

"Mm." Heather hmphed.

"Goodnight." Oliver echoed in his shell.

"Don't let the bed Burmy Bug Bite." Evan quipped.

And they settled down to rest...

"Hoopa, go to sleep." Heather spoke an hour later.

"I can't! I'm too excited!" She cried.

"Try counting Wooloo." Evan suggested.

"Okay!" She then produced one of her hoops, as Wooloo started bounding out of it before looking around in confusion. "One Wooloo, two Wooloo, three Wooloo…"

"She's doing it literally!" Oliver cried as they were beginning to get surrounded by Wooloo, all asking where they were.

The first day of Hoopa's journey was definitely something.

* * *

**...Yeah.**

**I'm reuploading a chapter of this after six months.**

**Can't deny this one I just lost interest. A fatal flaw of mine when it comes to Pokemon it seems. However, with the anime returning after the hiatus and Island of Armour just around the corner my thoughts turned to this.**

**I truly like the idea of this story, I had planned the ending and all. The problem is writing it itself. But I'm gonna try giving it another go. Because it's been six months however, I'm resetting the accepted OC's, since people have probably (rightly) abandoned this after so long.**

**So I'm going to try again, with the same rules for submissions still applying. Hope it goes better then last time...**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Motostoked Hoopa!

"It's the second day of my journey!"

Heather was rudely awakened by Hoopa's outburst, whilst Evan and Oliver were already up at that point. The weather had turned from rain to a calm sky.

"Oh, so this wasn't a nightmare?" The Budew grumbled.

"Rise and shine my little Heather!" Hoopa cheered as she picked said Pokemon up. "It's the next day of our journey! And we're gonna reach Motostoke today!"

"...Can I sleep, please?" Was all Heather said.

"Weren't you going to be a Trainer yourself?" Evan pointed out. "Gotta get up early for this lifestyle!"

"Don't worry, I'll carry you!" Hoopa smiled as she hugged the Grass/Poison to her chest.

"Joy." She mumbled, settling into the hold nonetheless because it was her only source of comfort.

"How you doing with floating, Oli?" Evan questioned.

"Hopefully a bit better." The Corsola had to admit as he lurched forward, still wobbling slightly.

"Come on, team! Onward!" Hoopa pointed forward.

* * *

"Where the heck are we?"

The four were walking/bumping through a thick fog practically blindly.

"How could a fog this dense settle in so quick!?" Hoopa cried as she waved her arms in front of her face.

"That's the Wild Area for you." Oliver figured.

"If we keep going this way, we're still going through West Lake Axewell." Evan figured. "Let's just make it to the bridge and then we'll be smooth sailing. And if not, we'll hit Motostoke's wall and find it that way. Sound logic."

"Maybe to a beginner Trainer." Heather mumbled.

"Oh! Actually, I can begin to see the bridge!" Hoopa pointed out, which made the Impidimp give the Budew a very smug look.

"...Is someone there?" Oliver guessed as they drew closer.

Soon enough as they began to cross, somebody was leaning on the railing. An old man with lightly tanned skin draped in an old lab coat wrapped tightly around him. His white hair spiked upwards and was paired with an equally snow messy goatee. His physique was very thin, like the wind could blow him off the edge, and a small scar was under his left eye. He smiled almost lazily as he stood there staring off into space.

"That's creepy." Heather admitted.

"Wonder what his story is." Oliver mused.

"What do you reckon, Hoopa?...Hoopa?" The three Pokemon looked at their Trainer as she stared gobsmacked.

"An old guy alone on a bridge, looking like he's about to end it all with a lopsided smile, with nobody to love him and no place left in the world..." She seemed to recite to herself, before she looked down at Evan and Oliver with a sparkle in her eyes. "He's perfect!"

'That's just creepy!' Oliver and Heather thought.

"Hey! Hey there! Sir!" Hoopa called before sprinting towards him.

The man turned his head, keeping his smile. "Hello there, Trainer. You must be on your way to the Gym Challenge in Motostoke."

"Yep! What are you doing out here?" Hoopa asked.

"Ah, just, taking a walk to clear my head, before this awful fog rolled in." He sighed heavily. "...I wasn't about to off myself by the way."

"Oh, did you hear that?" Hoopa asked a bit too casually.

"Uh-huh. Don't worry, haven't gotten there, yet! Ha!" He laughed.

"Hahaha!" Hoopa laughed whilst the other three just stared. "So, are you up to anything?"

"Nope!" He replied. "Did you need something?"

"Yes! I was wondering if you want to come with us? You seem like a cool old guy!" Hoopa beamed. "It's a really special-"

"That's probably the best compliment I've ever been given." He cut her off. "Sure, why not, I'm not up to anything."

"Really!?" Hoopa was hopeful. "It's gonna be weird!"

"You sold me at something to do, good enough for me." He grinned.

"Awesome!" Hoopa put Heather down and took out one of her hoops.

"This is too easy..." Oliver noted.

"I'd say that's a good thing." Evan said.

"Alright! Hoop, hoop, hooray, here we go!" Hoopa said as she enlarged it and threw it down over the old man.

"...Well. This is a surprise." The once-man said.

"Oh, wow!" Hoopa marvelled.

"An Abra?" Oliver mumbled.

"Oh, is that what I am?" The now Psychic-Type said as he looked himself over, flicking his new tail. His appearance as an Abra was different from most in the fact that wrinkles around his eyes and yellow hair around the edges of his face showed the tell-tale sign of age, plus the fact the scar under his eye had remained. "Well, well, well..." His grin had also persisted.

Suddenly he vanished.

"Did he just Teleport?" Oliver asked.

"Sorry, sorry, couldn't help myself." The group turned around to see him sitting behind them. "I'm overflowing with psychic abilities, and an Abra is known for doing teleporting, so I went with instinct." He then vanished again.

"...Ah." The four turned around again to see half of him sticking out of the middle of the bridge. "This can happen too it seems."

"Glad to see your enthusiastic at least." Hoopa smiled. "In case you couldn't tell, I'm Hoopa! Nice to have you around!"

"I could after the whole ring thing, but hello! I'm Jo Mori. But you can also call me Eon." The Abra smiled. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get out of here." He teleported a little bit higher, and fell flat on his face. "Give me a minute..."

"Okay, Jo! In the meantime, I guess we can catch you up on everything." Hoopa nodded.

'Oh dear...' Two of the three Pokemon thought.

* * *

"I just realised!"

The now four Pokemon flinched at their Trainers outburst, having been walking through the fog for a bit now.

"I have four Pokemon now! Which means...!" She clapped her hands giddily. "Let's go into a Wild Den!"

"What!?" Heather yelled.

"That is an excellent idea." Jo nodded earnestly.

"Hoopa, we've barely begun just learning how to use our moves, and you wanna go into a Wild Den?" Oliver gasped.

"Exactly! It'll be perfect practise!" Hoopa declared.

"I agree. This should be very enlightening." Jo smirked.

"What do you mean by 'now that you have four'?" Evan pointed out.

"Well, usually four people go for a Max Raid Battle, right?" Hoopa said.

"Yeah, it's a rule set up by the League for safety purposes." Oliver added.

"Well, we'll just do it all together!" She said. "Besides, I don't really wanna team up with somebody who sends out a Magikarp, or somebody who uses Solar Beam..."

Heather raised an eyebrow. "Who would-"

"It's more common then you think." Oliver said.

"Buncha trolls." Evan contributed.

"C'mon, team! Help me look!" Hoopa said as she surveyed the area.

"Hold on! We haven't decided on this!" Heather cried. "And it's still foggy!"

"I'm the Trainer, so you have to follow me." Hoopa said, with a smirk.

"You little-!" The Budew fumed.

"Don't worry! We'll find a weak one." Hoopa waved her off, as she began running around, peering through the trees.

"Hey, um..." Everybody looked up at a Pidove resting on the branch of a nearby tree. "If you're looking for a weak Wild Den, there's one over that way." He pointed with his wing.

"Awesome! Thanks a bunch!" Hoopa waved. "C'mon, team!" She picked up the slow Oliver and Heather in one arm each and ran.

"No problem...wait, did that human understand Pokemon?" The Pidove tilted its head in confusion.

"Runningrunningrunningrunningrunningrunn-STOP!" Hoopa halted at a collection of rocks glowing red, circling a hole out of which a red light pierced into the sky through the rain.

"This must be it." Evan said.

"So this is a Wild Den..." Jo circled the den, eyeing it from every angle, as if analysing it.

"It's a fairly weak light...must be a 1-star by League standards." Oliver evaluated.

"That means its perfect!" Hoopa beamed. "C'mon, team!"

"Uh, no thanks, we're just gonna-" Heather began.

"Nope." Hoopa used one of her rings to catch Heather by binding it around her, then hovered it over the hole before dropping her in, cursing violently the whole way down.

"Here we go then, alley-oop!" Evan straight up jumped in.

"I have a feeling this is going to be fun." Jo said before carefully climbing down. Teleporting was still too unpredictable...right now.

"Okay, let's go!" Hoopa said as she jumped in carrying the Corsola, as they all fell down a 45 degree drop, tumbling down to the bottom.

"I'm okay..." Oliver wheezed.

"Alright! Here we are!" Hoopa released her team member. The Max Raid Battle Area was a large, underground cover with a huge area. The entire place glowed an angry dark pink from the Dynamax energy radiating around.

"Nice of you to join us." Evan greeted.

"Nice of you to DROP ME." Heather was less enthusiastic.

"Our first Max Raid Battle!" Hoopa declared confidently. "Who's our opponent?"

"That." Jo pointed.

The remaining three looked up, to see a giant Caterpie glowing with energy towering over them.

"...A Caterpie? Really?" Hoopa sounded disappointed.

"I HEARD THAT!" The Caterpie boomed.

"Actually, this is a bad matchup." Evan pointed out. "Me, Heather and Eon are weak to Bug-Types."

"It's a Caterpie! It doesn't know any Bug-Type moves!" Heather cried.

"HEY! STOP THAT!" The Caterpie cried. "I'M A BIG, POWERFUL POKEMON! FEAR ME!"

"He's obviously just got drunk off of Dynamax and now thinks he's hot stuff." Hoopa said.

"THAT'S NOT VERY NICE!" The Caterpie whimpered, his voice still booming.

"...Are we still dong this?" Oliver asked.

"Oh! Yeah!" Hoopa said. "Go get him, team!"

"How is this gonna work, exactly? You gonna command all four of us?" Heather questioned.

"Exactly! It's the perfect Trainer test!" Hoopa pumped herself up.

"If you say so..." Oliver mumbled.

"But, uh, whilst I'm not giving you orders, I GUESS you can do whatever." Hoopa mumbled.

"Good enough." Heather said.

"Okay, okay! Go, go, go!" Hoopa pointed, prompting the four Pokemon to charge...or rather two, as Oliver clumsily followed behind, and Jo just watched. "Evan, use Fake Out!"

"I got it!" He nodded as he clapped his hands together, releasing a small shockwave that hit the Caterpie's body, making it flinch.

"OW! HEYYYY!" The Caterpie whined.

"Heather! Stun Spore!"

"Yeah, yeah." She said as she spat a ball of orange powder from her bud, which exploded into the Caterpie and unleashed the paralyzing spore, causing static to crackle around the Bug.

"Oliver! Astonish!" Oliver pulled himself into his shell, and quickly shot out, spiking his branches out angrily, which made the Caterpie flinch.

"Jo! Hidden Power!"

"Oh, I can do that, can I?" Jo questioned almost giddily. "Let's give it a try." He concentrated as a ball of white light formed inbetween his hands that he shot at the Caterpie. "Oh, YES!"

"This should NOT be working." Heather said.

"Looks like it is to me." Evan said, gesturing to the Caterpie, that already looked a little worn down.

"YOU BUNCHA MEANIES!" The Caterpie squealed loudly, trying to shrug off the paralysis. "I'LL SHOW YOU!" Suddenly, a giant wave of energy was released from the Caterpie.

"Uh-oh..." Evan said as the ground beneath them began to crack open with energy.

"Everybody dodge!" Hoopa yelled.

All four members dove away as the ground underneath them erupted with energy and a beam of white light blasted into the ceiling, but as it faded the ground was completely fine.

"Wow, that was close!" Jo gasped, having Teleported away, yet still ecstatic.

"That was Max Strike alright." Evan breathed.

"That was the most basic Max Move, and it was terrifying!" Oliver quivered.

"For the love of-Ghost-Type!" Heather said.

"You forget when you panic!" He defended himself.

"Okay, so it knows how to do that at least." Hoopa nodded. "Okay then! We'll just Dynamax too!"

"Wait, I just realised. How are you gonna Dynamax without Poke-Balls, Hoopa?" Oliver asked.

"Oh, that's easy." Her Dynamax band flashed as she took off one of her hoops, which glowed dark pink with energy. "It's our first Dynamax, team! Though I can only do it with one..."

The team were silent for a moment.

"...Aren't you gonna fight over it?" Hoopa asked hopefully.

"I can't very well observe it if I'm the one using it, can I?" Jo questioned.

"Can you just pick?" Heather hissed. "This is pretty scary, y'know."

"Fine." Hoopa pouted. "Evan then, as he's my starter."

"Noice." He nodded.

"Okey-dokey! Jump through the hoop!" Hoopa said as she held it out to the side.

Evan took a running jump through the hoop, causing him to glow dark pink with Dynamax energy, and as he landed behind her, he slowly began growing, until he was as large as the Caterpie.

"DYNAMAX SUCCESS!" Evan boomed with his new loud voice. "HAHA! THIS FEELS GREAT! I'M BURSTING WITH ENERGY!"

"Yeah, that means it's burning out, quick." Hoopa said. "So, in the meantime, rest of the team, let's whittle it down!"

"You Dynamaxed just to have us attack!?" Heather yelled.

"THAT'S CHEATING!" The Caterpie complained.

"I'D SAY IT'S MAKING US EVEN." Evan said.

"Alright team! Absorb! Tackle! Hidden Power!" The three members each used their assigned attacks, which now looked rather pitiful in comparison to the two giant Pokemon, but nonetheless made the Caterpie recoil.

"I'M HURTING!" The Caterpie cried desperately, as a red barrier appeared around it.

"That's what we were aiming for." Hoopa smirked. "Evan! Use Max Darkness!"

"WITH PLEASURE!" Evan boomed as he unleashed his building energy inside of him in the form of two waves of shadows that quickly enveloped Caterpie in darkness, before exploding in an eruption of black energy.

"Max Moves are ridiculous!" Heather screamed as just the force of the attack pushed the non-kaiju Pokemon back.

"Fantastic, isn't it!?" Jo shouted.

"OWWWWW..." The Caterpie hunched over, its barrier broken, clearly looking weakened.

"Looks like its all weak." Heather said.

"This is usually where you'd throw a Poke-Ball at it." Oliver said.

"Y...YOU'RE A BUCHA JERKS!" The Caterpie then wiggled off as a cloud of pink smoke obscured its escape.

"And that's that." Hoopa nodded.

With the battle won, Evan shrunk back to his original size. "Phew...that was a trip."

"You doing okay, Evan?" Oliver asked.

"Yeah, just feels like I've come down off a high." He admitted, rubbing his head.

"Goodies, goodies!" Hoopa sang as she bounded over to where the Caterpie was, picking up some small blue sweets. "EXP Candy S, Mushroom, oh, and a TR for Bug Bite!"

"You ever wonder why they're called 'Candies' when candy is a Unovan expression?" Oliver asked.

"I don't question it." Heather said.

"I'd say our first big battle was a success!" Hoopa said as she returned to the group.

"We won against a Caterpie." Heather pointed out.

"Well, don't remind me..." She pouted. "Here. Each of you get an EXP Candy." She handed the small blue diamond to them, as they all popped them in their mouths.

"Tastes like...gummies." Evan mused as he chewed.

"I can definitely feel its effects, it's like I'm being invigorated better then before." Jo mused.

"Still! A success is a success!" Hoopa stopped moping. "Now we're super ready for the Gym Challenge! I'm even more excited to register!"

The team climbed out of the den and continued walking onwards.

"Funnily enough, I don't really feel tired, even though we just fought a giant Pokemon." Oliver said.

"That's Poke-Power coursing through you, that's why!" Hoopa said. "Built for surviving, we are!"

"Hey!" Evan spoke up loudly. "I can see Motostoke!"

"Really!?" Hoopa gasped. The fog was beginning to clear, revealing a large city ahead of them.

"It's closer then I thought." Oliver admitted.

"We're almost there!" Hoopa gasped as she picked Oliver and Heather up under an arm each. "Let's go!" She then sprinted off, with Evan and Jo running behind her.

The group had reached the bottom of the large staircase leading up into the city, only for two people to be standing there.

"Who are those weirdos?" Heather pointed out, as the two were dressed in punk rock gear with black and dark pink colours. One was a chubby male and the other a slim female.

"No clue." Hoopa admitted. "Let's go see."

As they approached, the male suddenly pulled out a similarly fashioned 'Y' megaphone and yelled: "Hey! You trainer there! Are you here to register for the Gym Challenge!?"

"Ow! And yes!" Hoopa gasped.

"In that case, we're not letting you pass!" The female cried as she pulled out a pink banner with a picture of a goth girl on it. "We're Team Yell! Marnie's number 1 fans! She's gonna become the Champion, and we're gonna make sure she gets there no problem! So all other Trainers wanting to sign up for the Gym Challenge can sod off!"

"Charming." Evan mumbled.

"THIS is supposed to be a Team?" Jo seemed to be holding back laughter.

"Well, too bad. Because I'm going to become Champion!" Hoopa boasted.

"Very humble, aren't you?" Heather commented.

"Ohhhhh got a big head with that big mouth!?" The male yelled into their microphone. "Well thanks to your loose lips, you're not getting past us!"

"Anybody who wants to challenge our Marnie has to go through us!" The female loudly agreed.

"What a pain." Heather grumbled.

"So they're a bunch of rowdy fans?" Oliver suggested.

"If that's the case, I'm amazed they managed to leave Chatotter." Evan commented.

"Go, Zigzagoon!" "Go Nickit!" The male and female sent out their two Pokemon respectively.

"Oh boy! Fight! Fight fight! Fighty fight fight!" The male Zigzagoon exclaimed excitedly as its tongue hung out of its mouth.

"Anything valuable around?" The female Nickit absentmindedly glanced left and right.

"They must be fairly new if they're that...jittery." Oliver chose his words carefully.

"One Normal Dark and one pure Dark. Not a good matchup for us." Hoopa admitted looking at her current team. "In that case, Evan, Heather, it's up to you!"

"Double Battle, huh? I'm on it." Evan rolled his arms in preparation.

"Since I'm the best choice out of all of us..." Heather relented.

"Zigzagoon! Tackle on Impidimp!" "Nickit, use Quick Attack on Budew!" The two Pokemon hesitated, but still obeyed their orders.

"Evan, Fake Out on Zigzagoon! Heather, Stun Spore on Nickit!" Hoopa gave her commands quickly, enough for Evan to clap his hands together and make Zigzagoon freeze in its tracks, whilst Heather shot out yellow spores that covered Nickit and made it freeze from paralysis.

"Bloody hell! We both choked!" The male grunt gasped.

"Snap out of it, Nickit!" The female cried.

"Evan, jump behind Zigzagoon and use Bite!" Hoopa commanded.

"Right, time to keep my tongue back." Evan said as he did an impressive jump behind Zigzagoon as a glowing pair of white fangs appeared in front of his mouth in time with him opening it, before biting down on the Zigzagoon's tail with the fangs snapping shut on its body.

"Yow-ow-ouch!" The Zigzagoon yelled as it began running in zigzags in an attempt to throw Evan off, who was stubbornly holding on. "Letogletgoletgo!" It tried to attack Evan in retaliation, but he was just out of its range of view.

"Heather, use Growth!" She continued to command.

"I got it." She agreed as she glowed with green energy before growing a little bigger.

"Quickly, Nickit! Break through and use Quick Attack!" Her trainer commanded.

"I'm trying, Arceusdamnit!" The Nickit hissed in frustration.

"Now use Absorb and hold it!" Hoopa continued.

"Right, right." Heather nodded as a green energy shot from her bud and attached to Nickit, who could only wince as her energy began to get leeched.

"It almost feels a bit unfair." Oliver commented on the situation of Evan clamped onto Zigzagoon whilst Heather just drank Nickit's energy like a milkshake.

"I'm quite envious." Jo chuckled.

"Let GO!" Zigzagoon finally got Evan to release its tail.

"Urgh! You prick!" The Nickit cursed as they finally shrugged out of paralysis and jumped out of Absorb's range.

"Use Snarl!" Both the grunts commanded, as the two Pokemon released purple soundwaves that combined and knocked Evan and Heather back.

"You both okay?" Heather asked.

"I'm fine, actually. Dark Fairy helps." Evan said.

"I was using Absorb a while, so I'm fine, thanks for asking." Heather said as she had to roll herself upright like an egg.

"Uh-oh...I think this girl is actually competent..." The male grunt sweated.

'More like you're really INcompetent.' Heather thought.

"Use Bite and Absorb again!" The two Pokemon reused their attacks, which knocked out the two opposing Pokemon.

"We lost!" The female grunt cried.

"Well done, you two!" Hoopa cheered.

"No problem." Evan shrugged.

The two grunts returned their Pokemon. "This is bad, the others ain't gonna like this..." The male mumbled.

"We'll be going into town, now." Hoopa nodded.

"Uh..." The female looked at 'Jinny' and her four Pokemon clearly outnumbering them, and sighed in defeat. "Guess so. Let's beat it!"

"Don't have to tell me twice!" He agreed as they ran off.

"Well that was a minor inconvenience." Evan noted.

"Laughable more like." Jo added.

"Maybe, but we're here now!" Hoopa was already running up the stairs with Oliver and Heather in her arms.

Motostoke was one of the main cities of Galar, a giant stone city framed with giant gears and smokestacks. Even the ways of moving around the city seemed to work in line with clockwork via giant gears acting as elevators.

"Here we are!" Hoopa declared as Evan and Jo arrived behind her.

"It's pretty big." Evan nodded.

"I can see the Gym from here." Heather pointed out. "So what? You gonna go register and stop talking about it?"

"Not yet, actually. Besides, the ceremony is tomorrow." Hoopa shrugged. "First, we need to go to the Pokemon Centre and give you all a check-up."

"Wait, really?" Oliver asked.

"Really. Come on." The Pokemon Centre was rather close by, so it was easy for the group to enter. All Pokemon Centre's were practically the same, but in Galar they attempted to have a more urban feeling with a wooden interior and furniture rather then the hospital or mechanical interior of other regions. There were even small shops on the left and right sides for food or Trainer items.

"There's a lot of Trainers here." Evan pointed at the numerous children and young adults gathered.

"Welcome to the Pokemon Centre." The Nurse Joy behind the desk bowed.

"Hello! I'd like to give my Pokemon a check-up, please." Hoopa said as she placed the Corsola and Budew on the table.

"Ah, they're all walking Pokemon? Very well." She nodded, before pressing a button, and several female Indeedee walked out with a long stretcher.

"Here we go." One of the Indeedee's said soothingly as she picked up Oliver and Heather and put them on the stretcher, whilst Evan climbed on and Jo teleported...next to it, but managed to catch himself.

"Uh, thank you." Oliver said.

"Awww, so well behaved." The Indeedee beamed, which was enough to make the Corsola's white face turn red.

"Weirdo." Heather commented.

The four of them were wheeled off into the back, where several hospital rooms were. The quartet were placed on separate beds as the Nurse Joy (or a different one) came around.

"Quite a wide range for a beginning Trainer." Joy said. "Indeedee, if you all could work on Corsola and Budew, I'll take care of Impidimp and Abra."

"Roger." All the Indeedee's saluted.

"You're looking a little worn." An Indeedee informed Heather. "Nothing a little artificial light and water won't fix, though!"

"Huh?" Heather questioned, when a lamp bathed her in a soft glow.

"Just relax and let yourself photosynthesise." The Indeedee informed her.

"Uh...alright." Heather submitted.

"You look alright, but your shell is a little dirty." An Indeedee told Oliver, before grabbing a brush. "I'm just going to give it a scrub, so could you keep your branches in, please?"

"Okay." Oliver nodded as she began scrubbing away at his shell, and he had to admit, it felt nice.

"Now then." Joy checked Evan over. "Sorry to say, but we don't have any negative emotions for you to feed off of."

"That's alright, I have Heather for that." Evan waved her off.

"What was that?" Said Budew called over from her sunbathe.

"An Oran Berry will help re-energise you." Joy said as she gave him said berry and pet him on the head. "You're very well-behaved for an Impidimp, I must say."

"I could get used to this." Evan admitted as he munched on the Berry.

"And as for you...oh, you're an old one, aren't you? And clearly not from around here if you're an Abra." Joy noted.

"I feel very flattered." Jo assured her.

"But you seem a bit more awake then a regular Abra. Make sure you get your recommended 18 hours of sleep a day. More if you need it, considering your age." She suggested.

"That is a fact, isn't it? So much to consider on this trip..." Jo stroked his chin in thought. "Ah, right, no goatee there..."

Once everything was done, the four were wheeled back out where Hoopa was waiting.

"Thank you for waiting! Your Pokemon are all happy and healthy." Joy said.

"Thank you very much!" Hoopa said as the team went over to her.

"You're welcome!" All the Indeedee said.

"If you're here for the Gym Challenge ceremony tomorrow, then you'll be able to stay at the Budew Drop Inn for free by showing your Trainer License." Joy informed her.

"Great! Thanks for letting me know!" Hoopa nodded. "Come along, guys!"

"Hey, Heather, an Inn named after you!" Evan said.

"...Are you actually, like, FEEDING off of my annoyance?" Heather questioned.

"That's for me to know, and you to never know." Evan smirked.

The group easily found the Budew Drop Inn, seeing as it was right next to the stadium, and managed to book a room for the night in time for the ceremony tomorrow.

"Our room is on this floor." Hoopa said as they rode the elevator up due to Oliver still struggling to move around. The elevator doors opened up and they all poured out and began walking down the hallway. "304...305...306..."

"Oi, Jinny!" The group stopped and turned to see Gloria poking her head out of a door lower down. "There ya are! I've been bleedin' worryin' where ya hauled yerself to!"

"Hi, Gloria!" Hoopa waved.

"'Ere, come in me room for a wee chat." The other Trainer beckoned. "Girls night, yeah? Can't be having Hop in here after all!"

"Sure, as long as the team can come!" Hoopa nodded.

"Is that alright?" Oliver questioned.

"Come on, Oli, we're all Pokemon here. Nothing to worry about." Evan reassured him as he pushed the Corsola along.

So everyone crowded into one hotel room where Hoopa and Gloria sat on the bed whilst all the Pokemon sat on the carpeted floor.

"Hi, everyone!" Gloria's male Scorbunny energetically greeted them. "My name's Klonoa! Nice to meet ya!"

"I feel like that's a reference to something..." Evan wondered.

"Most nicknames are either cutesy or a reference." Oliver spoke up.

"Are you the only Pokemon she has?" Heather asked.

"Yeah. But we're gonna get a bunch of other awesome team members!" Klonoa boasted.

"Guess she's the type who planned out her team in advance." Oliver guessed. "...Eon, please stop that."

"I can't help myself." The Abra said as he poked at Oliver's shell. "If I cannot work on my own abilities, I wish to see how a Galarian Corsola ticks."

"Ha ha! You're all pretty cool!" Klonoa laughed. "I hope we can get along. And more importantly, I hope we can battle each other some time!"

"Oi! You lot!" Gloria called to the Pokemon before holding out several bags. "Who wants late night snacks!? I got crisps and soda!"

"Yay, snacks!" Klonoa cheered, as the group accepted.

"These crisps are massive!" Evan marvelled as he ate out of his own bag, revelling in the, less important, boons of being a Pokemon.

"Nothing like a good drink and good company...even if it is just this." Jo said as he drank.

"Here's to tomorrow, where everybody's Gym Challenge begins!" Klonoa cheered, struggling to raise a bottle.

"Cheers!" Evan and Jo raised theirs for Oliver and Heather.

"Awww, they're so bloomin' adorable." Gloria smiled.

"Yep! So wittle and cute!" Hoopa smiled widely. A little too widely.

"Did she just-?" Heather began.

"Eat your crisps, Heather." Oliver stopped her.

* * *

The next day, the group set off for the stadium with high spirits.

"Today's the day!" Hoopa sang.

"Look out Galar 'cause yer new Champ is right feckin' here!" Gloria boasted.

"Actually, she's a little too the left." Hoopa said.

"What you say you cheeky slag?" Gloria cried, but with a good-natured smile.

"They get along a little too well." Heather noticed.

"It's great, isn't it?" Klonoa laughed.

"I wonder if Eon is okay." Oliver wondered, since the Abra was being held by the Mythical.

"Abra do sleep a lot. Maybe being subconscious will help him somehow." Evan shrugged. "Or we're gonna have to lug him around half the time."

The team walked in, where a familiar face was waiting for them.

"Oi, mates! There you are!" Hop waved.

"That's our bloomin, line, Hop! Whatja think yer doin' runnin' off first thing?" Gloria yelled.

"Sorry! I was too excited! But we're all here now, ain't we?" Hop did his disturbing thrusting. "Let's all get registered!"

The three Trainers signed up, and immediately Hoopa turned to her human Pokemon and put the sleeping Jo next to them. "I'm gonna go get changed into my new uniform! Wait right here!" She then ran into a room.

"Not like we can go anywhere." Heather said.

"I guess this is where it really begins." Oliver mumbled.

"It's so exciting, isn't it?" Klonoa cried.

"Distortion yeah, it is!" Evan agreed.

"Ta-da!" Hoopa came out wearing a Gym Uniform, and giving a twirl the number '720' was on the back and on her shorts. "What do you think?"

"Looks nice." Oliver nodded as best he could.

"Fine." Heather acknowledged.

"Alright! The ceremony is about to start. Pokemon aren't allowed, so I'm leaving you guys here, but you can watch it on the television, okay? Be back in a bit!" She then skipped towards the field.

"Hey, Eon, wake up." Evan nudged him.

"Mmm, ah? Did you have to wake me up? I was beginning to work things out." Jo mumbled, irritated, but quickly regained his constant smile. "Oh, when did we get here?"

Everyone looked up at the screen overhead as Chairman Rose introduced all of the Gym Leaders; Milo, Nessa, Kabu, Bea, Allister, Opal, Gordie, Melony and Raihan.

"Isn't one missing?" Evan pointed out.

"If anything there are too many." Jo thought aloud...literally. "Ah, getting the hand of telepa-" And it was gone. Darnit.

After that, all of the Gym Challengers were led into the field as a sort of introduction and good luck.

"I can see her, in the top right." Evan pointed.

"I can see Gloria!" Klonoa cheered.

"I should be there..." Heather sulked.

"Oh, cheer up." Evan nudged her.

Afterwards, Hoopa ran back into the area excitedly. "Did you guys see me!?"

"We did." Evan nodded.

"Alright! With this, our Gym Challenge officially begins!" She declared with a pump of her fist. "Let's all do our best!"

"Yeah!" "Huzzah!" "Yay?" "...Mm-hm." The team responded.

* * *

**Jo 'Eon' Mori by Time-Space lord Eon**

* * *

**And with that, the next chapter is out! Right in time for the announcement and Island of Armour tomorrow! And that IS how it is spelled officially, worldwide, and you cannot change my mind.**

**The first new OC introduced is Jo by Eon. The reasons the optimistic, experimental Abra was chosen because: He has a unique age (being an old man), is a returning submission from six months ago, has a backstory that can tie into the plot of Sw/Sh and is generally a good character to poke and prod all of the humans turned Pokemon.**

**Submissions are obviously still open, but remember, you have to be very detailed so that your character can work. All Types are open for now, doubles of certain Types are fine, but I do want one of each type after a while.**

**Hope you all enjoyed this! See you in the next chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Hoop-Along Route 3

"Um...Hoopa?" Oliver spoke up.

"Mm-hm?"

"So...the Gym Challenge has started."

"Well, obviously!"

"So why are we here instead of heading out to Route 3?"

The four human Pokemon and disguised mythical were all sitting in Motostoke's Battle Café. Evan was happily munching on a Belgian bun, Heather was forced to bury her face into a slice of fruitcake in order to eat it, and Jo originally tried to levitate his crumpets into his mouth, but was now just eating them with his hands.

"Half of the journey is what you do along the way!" Hoopa argued. "We can afford to enjoy ourselves. Or do you want me to take back that triple chocolate muffin?"

"No, thank you." He admitted defeat as he ate more of it.

"Y'know, Eon..." Evan spoke up between mouthfuls. "When you evolve, you'll have a spoon 24/7. Then you can eat pudding whenever you want."

"You mean desserts?" The Abra inquired.

"Sure." The Impidimp shrugged.

"We can actually evolve?" Oliver perked up again.

"Of course. That's how Pokemon work." Hoopa said.

"An Arceusend at this point." Heather spoke up.

"What's it like?" The Corsola prodded.

"No clue. Never happened to me." Hoopa shrugged. "Thinking on it, I probably should have asked Solgaleo, Lunala or an Urshifu about that..."

"You know the other Legendaries?" Jo immediately took interest.

"Oh yeah. Legendaries and Mythicals keep in touch." Hoopa shrugged as if it was no big deal, and then proceeded to continue eating sprinkled donuts. "Mmm~! These doughnuts are great! Jelly filled are my favourite! Nothing beats a jelly filled donut!"

"Can we go back to the fact you Legendaries and Mythicals all know each other?" Heather spoke up.

"Ehhhh, in all honesty, I don't know them all THAT well." Hoopa mumbled, eating another ring. "All the trio's are always off somewhere, Zygarde is literally all over the place... but uh...Diancie's kind of a slut."

At that comment Evan burst into laughter, Oliver spat out in shock, Heather's jaw dropped, and Jo completely tensed up, causing other members of the café to look over at their table in confusion.

"Wha-ha-hat!?" Evan wheezed. "The 'Princess Crystal' a-!? Hah! I'm weak...!"

"Well, have you seen her?"

"In a book, maybe." Jo coughed.

"She's always showing off how beautiful her crystals are." Hoopa grumbled. "So prim and proper too..."

"Sounds like someone's jealous." Heather commented.

"You can't prove that." The Mythical defended herself as she ate her last doughnut.

"Do other Legendary and Mythical Pokemon do stuff like this?" Oliver went further.

"Nope! This is my unique experiment." She nodded. "I'm practically a scientist!"

"Good for you." Jo commented, sipping some coffee. He was trying to stay awake.

"Anyway. Now that we've got sweets in our stomachs, let's get moving on to the first Gym!" Hoopa said, picking up Oliver and Heather.

"W-Wait for me...!" Evan was still catching his breath as he followed, whilst Jo tried to hover behind them, still drinking coffee.

"Alright! I've got it all set out." Hoopa nodded confidently as they walked through the streets towards the main gear to the upper level. "We'll train up on Routes 3, 4, and Mine number 1, then we'll take on the Grass gym!"

"None of us are super effective against Grass-Types." Oliver pointed out.

"Well, Heather is, technically. She just doesn't know any Poison moves." Jo pointed out.

"Maybe we could pick up a Poison TM?" Evan thought aloud. "I mean it would fit her toxic personality."

"I'm gonna ignore that comment since you might be LITERALLY FEEDING off of it." The Budew spoke up.

"No Poison TM's in Motostoke." Oliver told them.

"That's just what a new team member is for!" Hoopa beamed.

"Yeeeeeeaaaaaah how many people are you gunning for, actually?" Heather sceptically asked.

"A good number." Hoopa shrugged. "Trainers have a lot more Pokemon then 6 to make up for weaknesses, right?"

"Actually most Trainers stick to a team of 6 favourites." Oliver said.

"Really?" Hoopa frowned. "Well, I want to have all Types! Hopefully."

"That's a few." Jo phrased it lightly as they all boarded the gear and rode it to the higher level.

"It's all part of the experiment. Yeah." The Mythical nodded to herself.

"I reckon everybody else is already heading down Route 3." The Corsola said as they began passing the upper levels Pokemon Centre.

"No problem! We'll take it at our own pace and wow everybody!" Hoopa optimistically said. "Alright, let's get a move-oh?" There was a bumping sound, as well as someone falling down.

"What's up?" Evan asked as they looked past Hoopa's legs.

The person who had bumped into Hoopa was a young girl. She had unhealthy, pale white skin and short, unruly black hair that fell messily to her shoulders. She wore a loose, grey hoodie that was too large for her, same for the loosely fitting black trousers and plain black slippers. The most prominent thing though, were her large eyes, which were wide and unfocused.

"A girl?" Heather stated.

"I guess she rode up the other gear." Evan shrugged, whilst pulling at his big ears for emphasis. "I heard it spin."

"She's so tiny!" Hoopa marvelled.

At the Mythical's voice, the girl quickly stood up and ran forward, once again bumping into Hoopa's legs, but this time she wrapped her covered arms around her legs and clung on tightly.

"Wow, she's friendly." Hoopa marvelled.

"A bit too friendly..." Oliver noted.

"Hmm..." Jo had now taken interest. He looked at the girl and tentatively poked her in the side, which elicited a rather drastic flinch and a tightened grip on Hoopa's legs.

"Jo!" Heather berated him.

"What? I'm trying to work out what the problem is." The Abra defended himself.

"Something's obviously up." Hoopa said as she picked up the girl, who stared off into the distance.

Jo experimentally slapped the ground with his tail, which caused the girl to once again flinch and have her head dart around wildly. "She's blind."

"No shit." The Budew grumbled.

"Maybe she got lost?" Hoopa suggested as the girl clung onto her tight.

"Mmm..." Evan walked over to the ledge and peered through the fencing. "Ah! Down there!" The rest of the group walked over and peered. "See that guy down there?"

The man in question was dressed in typical farmer getup of overalls and a red checkered shirt, with a strong build and untamed black hair, looking around frantically.

"That must be her dad. A farmer if I've ever seen one." Oliver said.

"We should go return her." Hoopa nodded.

"NO!" The girl suddenly yelled, grabbing at Hoopa's shirt. "No! No...no..."

"That's not a good sign." Oliver mumbled.

"He's coming up to this gear!" Evan relayed.

"Quick! Let's go down to the waterway!" Hoopa said as she began sprinting off.

"Hoopa!?" Heather gasped as all of her Pokemon had to follow after her, some still struggling.

The group went down a flight of metal stairs as the sound of a gear turning groaned, and the mere noise caused the girl to begin squeezing out tears.

"Back here." They all huddled behind a large group of crates.

"This is not good at all..." Evan hissed.

"We have to be sure, otherwise this could be kidnapping." Jo said. "Check her arms."

"R-Right." Hoopa actually sounded hesitant, and grabbed one of the girls sleeves, but she immediately cried and pulled her arm back. "Hey, hey, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. But I need to check to see if you're okay." The girl seemed resistant.

"This won't work." Jo muttered.

"Hmmm..." Hoopa thought for a moment, before taking off one of her hoops from beneath her hat and reaching into it, pulling out a Poke Doll. "Here, can this be a peace offering?" She handed it to the girl, who once more flinched, but when she felt it, she hugged it softly.

"It's fluffy..." She stated.

"I'll be careful..." Hoop assured her as she gently lifted up one of the girls sleeves...

To reveal multiple scars.

"Fuck." Evan said what they were all thinking.

"We've got to go to the police!" Heather gasped.

"Bad idea." Jo stopped her.

"What!?"

"Don't you see? The way she's dressed, the way she's acting? It's clear this man knows how to cover up child abuse." The Abra solemnly said. "I imagine there have been police investigations before and he's got a number of explanations up his sleeve. That and the fact we're at a disadvantage; he could accuse us of kidnapping if he spots us, and I think he has more word over a trainer nobody's ever heard of."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Oliver asked.

"I could kill him."

The four of them looked at Hoopa, who had an uncharacteristically dark look on her face. "I could tear him apart with a Hyperspace Hole. Or electrocute him with a Thunderbolt. Or break his skull with Brick Break." The girl's whimpering showed she didn't like these ideas. "Or-"

"Hoopa!" Evan yelled.

"H-Huh!?" The Mythical seemed to snap out of her thoughts and saw that the girl was on the verge of tears. "Ah! S-Sorry! That does sound a bit much, heh heh..."

"I just..." Everyone fell silent as the girl spoke. "I don't want to go back...please..."

Just then, there was the sound of footsteps coming down the metal staircase.

"Someone's coming!" Heather whispered.

"Do you think it's him?" Oliver whispered.

"Please...!" The girl panicked silently, clutching onto Hoopa.

"...Desperate times call for desperate measures." Hoopa enlarged her hoop and created a portal. "Everybody in!" The team quickly complied and jumped into the portal.

They then came out in the alley on the complete other side of Motostoke.

"So Hoopa's rings really can teleport anywhere." Jo took interest as they all passed through.

"Sincerely hope nobody saw that." Oliver admitted.

"I'm a Mythical, I have a knack for not being seen." Hoopa boasted as her ring returned to her horn under her hat.

"We're somewhere else..." The girl seemed to notice. "...Thank you..."

"No problem at all. We're just glad you're safe." Hoopa assured her. "Are you alright?"

"...Mm-hm." She nodded ever so slightly as she curled into Hoopa's hold, still clutching the doll.

"Things just go complicated." Oliver said.

"I certainly didn't picture running into an abused child on my Pokemon journey." Heather said.

"More then that." Jo spoke. "He's probably going to file for a missing child report. And seeing as she's blind, people will think she got lost or taken advantage of rather then ran away."

"For Arceus' sake, she's a little girl!" Heather blurted out. "How can this happen!?"

"A multitude of reasons." Jo shrugged. "Perhaps her blindness makes him view her as lesser. Perhaps it's the fact she is female. Perhaps her mother died giving birth and he blames her. Perhaps-"

"Jo. Shut up." Heather seethed.

"You're the one who asked." He grumbled. "No respect for the elderly."

"I have an idea." Hoopa said.

She looked at the four. The four looked at her.

"...NO." Heather denied.

"An idea?" The girl spoke up.

"She's a child, Hoopa!" Heather yelled.

"A one week old Pokemon can become as strong as a ten year old with enough training. And care." Hoopa stated seriously. "I'm not making this decision lightly. Our options are limited, and she's in a very precarious situation. Perhaps this is a way for her to gain some much needed strength and confidence."

"Who are you talking to?" The girl warily asked.

"My Pokemon. My team." Hoopa told her.

"Don't ignore me!" Heather cried.

"That's Heather, my Budew. She' a bit sharp, but she's got a soft spot." Hoopa gently stroked the girls head, as she still recoiled slightly from the touch. "And there's Evan the Impidimp, Oliver the Corsola, and Jo the Abra. We're off on a Gym Challenge."

"Gym Challenge?" The girl echoed.

"How can she not know about the Gym Challenge?" Oliver whispered.

"Lack of knowledge and exposure, I suppose." Jo whispered back. "It must be some kind of Victini's luck she even managed to get away from him."

"We're all going on a journey together." Hoopa told her. "If you want, you can come with us. We'll all take care of you. Isn't that right, everybody?"

"Yep!" "I-...yes." "Right." "Absolutely." They all nodded.

"And you can be a big help too." Hoopa told her. "We'll all work together. Is that alright with you?"

Things were silent for a moment. But then she began crying.

"...Did I do something wrong?" Hoopa asked the Pokemon with genuine confusion.

"Yes...!" The girl sobbed. "I-I want to come with you...! Please...!"

"Okay." Hoopa said as she rubbed her head. "Do you want to tell me your name?"

"M-Myra...Robinson..." She whimpered.

"Well then, Myra. You're part of our team now. We'll be here for you from now on." Hoopa assured her, before taking off one of her hoops. "I'm going to help you with something, alright? Is that okay?"

"...Yes." She nodded.

"Good girl. Okay, hold still." Much more gently then usual, she lowered her hoop until she had gone all the way through.

A little Noibat now sat in her lap.

"There you go." Hoopa said as she picked the bat up. "You did really well."

Myra blinked with her not working eyes. "...I feel funny." She shook her now large head. She waved her legs. She flapped her wings. "Wh-What happened? Why do I feel weird!?"

"Hoopa, look what you've done!" Heather cried.

"Who's that!?" Myra instantly became panicked. "Who else is here!?"

"Heyheyhey, it's okay. Everything's okay." Hoopa said as she held the Noibat, who was hyperventilating. "You're a Noibat now."

"A Noibat?" She echoed.

"Yes. A Pokemon." Hoopa explained. "Which is why you can understand what all my other Pokemon are saying."

"Nice to meet you." Evan spoke up, which made Myra flinch.

"I'm...a Pokemon?" She asked.

"Yep. Part of the team." The Mythical said. "And I'm Hoopa, who will be responsible for you."

"Hoopa..." Myra spoke the name softly. "...It feels weird, Hoopa. But a good kind of weird. Like-ah!" She suddenly jumped.

"What's wrong?" Hoopa asked.

"Th-Things!" She cried frantically, flapping her wings. "Things were...there! Um...! Uh...!"

"Can you guys hear that?" Evan said.

The rest of the Pokemon concentrated to hear a ringing sound.

"Is that...sonic waves?" Oliver guessed.

"She's using echolocation." Jo instantly become marvelled.

"I...can see you." Myra's eyes widened in shock. "I can see you!"

"I guess it worked out for her..." Oliver would've shrugged if he could.

"This is wrong." Heather grumbled.

"Sure you're not jealous she can echolocate and fly?" Evan smirked. Heather did not respond.

"Come on, everyone." Hoopa said as she stood up with Myra in her arms. "Let's take our new member to the Pokemon Centre."

"No no!" She instantly became erratic again. "Please don't take me there! He will-!"

"It's alright. We'll protect you." Hoopa said. "Besides, he can't recognise you now. We just need to get you checked up."

"But...but..." She still seemed hesitant, but they were already heading out and towards the red roofed building.

"Welco-oh, it's you from yesterday." Joy recognised the group. "I would've thought you'd be off on Route 3 by now."

"Yeah, sorry, but can you take a look at my Noibat?" Hoopa said. "I just got her, but it seems like she's gone through some rough things. I just want to make sure she's okay."

"Ah." Joy nodded understandingly. "Alright then."

"Nooooo." Myra argued as she clung onto Hoopa tightly.

"She's a bit delicate." Hoopa explained.

"I understand. In that case, you can come in with me, if that will help." Joy offered.

"Thank you." Hoopa nodded as she carried Myra down the hall.

The other four followed and watched through the glass as Joy checked over Myra with the help of Indeedee, the Noibat flinching at every touch.

"Is this right?" Heather spoke, which made the other three look at her.

"Would you have preferred the other option?" Jo questioned.

"Of course not!" She snapped. "But we don't know if she's okay with all this. If this is what she wants, or if it's just what's been forced upon her."

"Maybe that's not for us to decide." Evan said as he folded his arms. "This is a chance for her to find her own way in life. Her previous experience was nothing but pain, so an entirely new one could help her gain a new lease on life. Figuring things out for yourself is the best way to go about things."

He then noticed all three were staring at him. "What? I can be profound too!"

"And we're done." Joy said.

"Good girl." Indeedee praised the little Noibat.

"Your Noibat has some scars on her wings and under her fur." Joy told her. "Thankfully they shouldn't impede her ability to fly, but her constant flinching indicates she's had some kind of abuse early in her life. It's not uncommon for a Pokemon to abandon their Egg in the wild, which is most likely where this came from. If you're thinking of using her for battle, please ease her into it, and help her gain come confidence."

"I understand." Hoopa nodded. "Thank you, Nurse Joy."

"I can fly?" Was what Myra took from the conversation.

"Sorry to keep you guys waiting!" Hoopa said as she walked out with Myra. "Right, we've stalled long enough, let's get moving to Route 3!"

"Finally!" Heather sighed as they began walking.

"We're going?" Myra asked.

"Yep! Your journey starts here!" Hoopa told her.

"...Okay." She nodded.

* * *

"Here we are!"

Galar's Route 3 lay spread out before them, Galar Mine Number 1 far off in the distance along with the power plant, and inbetween was long, sandy paths with greenery scattered almost erratically along the rocky earth. Many Trainers were already battling each other or catching wild Pokemon.

"I guess this is where it really begins, huh?" Heather sighed.

"How is this going to work, Hoopa?" Oliver asked.

"Hmm...training is kinda boring." Hoopa admitted.

"Oh, then WHY-!?" Evan covered Heather's mouth.

"Besides, humans like doing their own thing, right?" Hoopa said. "So you guys can train by battling wild Pokemon, and I'll supervise. If I wanna have an official battle, I'll call you all over. That sound alright?"

"Fine by me." Evan agreed.

"If I remember correctly, there are mostly Vulpix's, Zigzagoon's and Rookidee, along with some rare ones." Oliver recalled. "So, um...Heather should go for the Mudbray, I could try the Fighting Types, and Evan...uh..."

"If I can Bite it I'll fight it." The Impidimp said.

"I'll stay here with Myra and Jo, then." Hoopa told them, indicating to the Abra who, despite fighting valiantly, could not stay awake. "Okay, gang, let's get training!"

The group split with Hoopa remaining whilst the three split up across the expanse. Evan immediately began his glamorous journey by Biting down on a passing Rookidee, who screeched Poke-profanities.

Oliver on the other hand floated around, now having a better hold on levitating his body, and stared at the various groups of Poekomn mingling about. There was a large group of Trubbish all talking together, apparently taking comfort in their own scents. Quickly turning away from that conversation he found several Klink all talking to one other about their respective partners, some grievances, even though they were stuck together, but surprisingly the pairs didn't mind. Guess you had to get used to it since you were stuck together.

"Pokemon have surprisingly normal conversations." Oliver took note, before spotting a lone Tyrogue shadowboxing, a rare sight. And seeing as how the Baby Pokemon only knew Normal Moves...he began floating towards it.

Hoopa meanwhile was sitting with Myra, Jo still sleeping next to her. But at some point he had started levitating steadily, which meant he was learning something even whilst unconscious. The Noibat meanwhile was constantly sending out waves from her large ears to 'take in' everything around her.

"It's so wide." She suddenly said, absentmindedly.

"That's the world for you." Hoopa nodded, when Myra gained a frown. "What's wrong?"

"I don't like them fighting." She pointed a wing in the general direction of Evan, who had now picked a fight with a Skwovet, and Oliver, who was now battling a Tyrogue. Heather was wandering.

"You don't have to worry about it." Hoopa told her. "Pokemon are born really tough. Even if we're knocked out, we can get right back up again."

"Mmmm…" Myra didn't seem convinced.

"Say," Hoopa thought quickly. "Why don't we work on you being able to fly?"

"I really can?" She asked incredulously.

"Of course. Would you like to?"

She seemed uncertain about it again.

"Come on, we'll get you started." The Mythical stood up. "I float myself, but I bet we can get the gist of it. You just gotta flap your wings!"

"My wings? Um..." The girl stretched her limbs out tentatively.

"Come ooooon just give it a go." Hoopa coaxed.

Myra still seemed hesitant, but began slowly began waving her wings.

"You can do it, faster, faster!" Hoopa cheered.

"Mmmmmmmm!" Myra strained as she flapped her wings faster, and managed to begin hovering off the ground. "I can't feel the ground!" She then fell back down.

"But you hovered for a second!" Hoopa marvelled.

"It feels weird..." Myra admitted.

"It will also become your best strength." Hoopa said. "Let's keep practising, okay?"

"Alright..." She agreed.

"Gah!" The Tyrogue that Oliver had been fighting picked itself up after fainting. "No fair! I couldn't hit you at all! You must've cheated somehow!"

"I'm a Ghost-Type." Oliver defended himself. He certainly was a Baby Pokemon, because he was acting very bratty. "You really don't know how Types work?"

"Types?" The Tyrogue questioned.

'That answers that.' Oliver thought.

"Whatever! This is stupid! I'm not playing anymore!" He then stomped off in a huff.

"He considered that playing?" The Corsola wondered aloud.

Evan meanwhile had just sent the Skwovet scampering off and brushed the dust off his hands. "That's that. Huh...I guess I can use Fake Tears now." Learning new moves was certainly strange. It was like suddenly having an epiphany about how to do this or that, like using that feeling in your body in a unique way, or in this case, scrunching up his face and crying on command.

"Finally things are beginning to get into full swing..." He groaned out as he stretched his spaghetti limbs. "So long as I'm a good little Poke, things can only go up from here. Hopefully."

Heather on the other hand was sitting beneath a Berry Tree, relaxing as best she could. No way she was going to go and pick a fight with some random Pokemon just because Hoopa asked her. This was supposed to be HER journey, so she'll do what SHE wants to do. It only took 3 Routes for the Mythical to finally let her off on her own...

"Excuse me?"

The Budew was startled by the unfamiliar girly voice, and looked up to see a Cherubi in the tree looking down at her.

"Whatcha doing down there?" The Cherubi asked.

"Resting." Heather replied dryly.

"Oh..." The Cherubi mumbled. "I thought you might've been lost from your mummy, but you're a bit older then that, huh?"

"If you thought I was young because I'm a 'Baby Pokemon', then you're wrong." Budew huffed.

"It's just that usually you would be a Roselia by now." The Cherubi said.

"Huh? Budew evolve from strong friendship with their Trainers, which I certainly don't have." She denied.

"Well my mummy told me that some Pokemon evolve when they're really happy or grateful." The Cherubi argued. "But I guess you're not very happy at all."

"Hey!" She took offence. "I'm in a very bad position right now, y'know! I used to have hands! With apposable thumbs!"

"Grumpy." The Cherubi pouted.

"Ahhh, you wouldn't understand anyway." She grumbled.

"Well, I don't have any arms." Cherubi said. "I'm a Grass-Type, in a place with a lot of dangerous Pokemon for me, and my only safe place is this tree which humans shake a lot."

"Our situations are a bit more different then that." Heather sighed.

"I think you're lucky." The Cherubi said. "You're going on a journey, with a Trainer who actually feeds you. I'd like that. I'm scared that I'm gonna get caught by someone who only uses me for battles and nothing else. I think everybody's scared of that. Maybe you don't think you're in the best position, but it could be a lot worse. If you start looking at it more positively, you'll get arms in no time!"

Heather paused for a moment. "...How old are you, kid?"

"3 days."

'I'm being talked down to by a literal baby.' The Budew sighed in her head. "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks."

"Oh! You're welcome!" The berry beamed.

"Right then...I'm...gonna go fight a Mudbray." She admitted.

* * *

"So, how did everybody get on?" Hoopa asked as the group were now travelling.

"Good." Yeah, good." "Alright." The first three answered.

"Myra's going to practice flying a bit more whilst we're heading to Turffield." Hoopa explained as the little bat flapped her wings at a steady pace to get a feel for it. "Thankfully, Mine 1 will be perfect! It's nice and crowded for her echolocation, and the cave roof will be a good goal to reach."

"Are you alright with that, Myra?" Heather checked.

"Mm-hm." The Noibat nodded shyly, still not used to the rest of the group.

'I've been hard at work as well you know.' A voice echoed in their heads, causing Myra to shriek and inadvertently let out a Supersonic.

"Arceus, Eon! A bit of warning next time!" Evan yelped as he covered his large ears.

"Sorry!" Myra squeaked as she buried her head in her fur in shame.

'No, no, my bad.' The still sleeping Abra floating behind them conveyed. 'I'm finally getting the hang of these psychic capabilities. Subconsciousness is a wonderful thing for me it turns out. Still wish I didn't have to sleep so much, though.'

"We're all getting used to our new bodies." Oliver pointed out. "We might actually be ready for this Gym Battle."

"Might be? Of course we are!" Evan slapped Oliver's shell as if patting his back. "We're gonna ace this thing, right, Hoopa?...Hoopa?"

"Ehehehee…" Hoopa had a weird look on her face. "Butter drenched scallops..."

"She's more absentminded then usual." Heather mumbled.

"Don't tell me Myra's Supersonic confused her." Oliver said.

"Huh?" The Noibat innocently tilted her head.

'Even if she's a Mythical, she's still a Pokemon, so it's possible...' Jo theorised.

"But Celebi, I don't want to fly in the paddling pool...I'd rather fly! Wheeeeee!" She then began sprinting forward carrying Myra.

"Hoopa! Come back!" Evan cried as the four other members gave chase towards the cave entrance.

At the same time, a figure looked on from afar with a groan.

"Honestly, Hoopa..." They whispered.

* * *

**Myra Robinson by Yukistorm04**

* * *

**And here we are with another chapter heading into Galar Mine 1. Though obviously most of this chapter was introducing our newest member; Myra the Noibat.**

**Now, a bit of background with this choice. Despite only having a handful of submissions so far, MOST of those submissions had an abusive father backstory, which was a tad bit worrying. Guys, this is Pokemon, escapism in a sense. The T rating is there because I want to use creative Pokemon swear puns not because this is going to be a dark story. Just writing this chapter hurt my heart a bit.**

**But Myra was chosen over the others for several reasons; her unique age (on the opposite end of Jo), having a disability that ties into her Pokemon form (her blindness), Having a very long detailed form, and the submitter's contribution helping to get this back up and running again.**

**I might still choose the others, depends, but in the meantime, we're still going, onward to Turffield through Mine 1!**

**(Also, thank you ScalchopWarrior for the constructive feedback. Hope this was a bit better.)**


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